There is not enough water in the Chao Phraya River basin to feed rice farms in the early rainy season next month, according to the Department of Royal Irrigation (RID).
Suthep Noipairoj, the RID director-general, has warned farmers they should not plant rice in their usual crop season next month as water remains scarce.
He said water is running low in the four main dams in the Chao Phraya basin. Farmers should begin planting when the rainy season is in full swing, expected in July, he said. "The Meteorological Department will make an announcement when it is time for rice planting," he said.
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Mr Suthep expressed confidence there will be sufficient water reserves in the irrigation zone during the rainy season. However, the agency will need to assess whether the water collected will last for the second rice crop which follows the rainy season.
According to the department, 96% of usable water from the four main dams has been used, leaving only 4% available until the rainy season. The first rain of the season is expected in the third week of next month.
The RID says the government has prioritised the use of water, which is supplied first to farmlands that grow crops from the previous season. Farmers are also asked to suspend rice planting if their land is not served by irrigated water or encouraged to switch to drought-resistant crops.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said the ministry expects farmers will produce about 27 million tonnes of rice on 62 million rai this year. Of this, 3.16 million tonnes will likely be harvested in the second crop planted on about four million rai of farmland.
In the previous second rice crop, which was extended until early this year, farmers planted rice on 5.5 million rai of farmland. Of this, 3.1 million rai were grown in the 22 provinces along the river basin, according to the ministry.
Farmers should grow alternative crops that are resistant to drought including sunn hemp, he said. He said the government will buy sunn hemp seeds grown by the farmers, saying income from the harvest will be close to what the farmers get from selling rice.
He added the ministry will soon submit to the cabinet a rehabilitation plan for the farming sector affected by drought. The plan includes a reduction in fertiliser prices to 10-30 baht a bag, an offer of quality rice seeds and low-interest loans to farmers.
Meanwhile, commerce permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara said the amount of rice harvested this year is likely to be about 1.7% lower compared to last year's output.
However, rice consumption is predicted to increase, although there is no guarantee farmers will get a better price from the rice since prices are dictated by many factors.
She said the country planned to export 9.5 million tonnes of white rice, similar to last year's exports.